Voda Idea repays Jan 4 NCD dues on time

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has paid on time the holders of its non-convertible debentures (NCDs), including the principal and interest amounts.

” In terms of regulations of the Securities and exchanges Board of India …we hereby certify that the Company has made timely payment of principal amount together with interest in respect of under mentioned debentures issued by the Company,” said Vi in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The due date was January 4.

The telco said that the unsecured redeemable NCDs were at 7.77% and this comes at a time when Vi has received a big boost from the telecom relief package and is in talks with investors to raise funds.

The telco in December had paid bondholders NCDs of about Rs 1500 crore and the latest tranche is part of the Rs 4500 crore it had to pay by February end. Vi has to shell out Rs 4,000 crore in January towards redemption of the NCDs and another Rs 500 crore in February.

The government’s relief package—which analysts estimate could give Rs 1 lakh crore cash flow relief over four years to the telco. Vi wanted to bring in funds worth Rs 25,000 crore and now relief package and tariff hikes, investor sentiments are expected to have boosted. Takkar had then said that Vi was planning to “upgrade its business plan”, including funding requirements.

The government in September announced a slew of relief measures for the sector, which benefited Vi the most as the telco doesn’t need to pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) installments and for spectrum bought in auctions for four years.Another aspect of government relief was a sharp reduction in the requirement for bank guarantees (BGs). Vi had about Rs 23,000-25,000 crore of BGs with the government. UR ALL NEWS